Almost Crime: An Essay

So today, and I guess generally lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my future. Namely, the fact that I need to get an internship and I have no fucking idea what I want to do with the rest of my life. (This thought is especially scary – you only get one shot at this thing.) Having a talent for art is frustrating because there are so many BIG issues to tackle, but as a fine artist, it’s frowned upon to be too obvious as you try to communicate with the viewer. Lately I think I’ve been getting in the swing of things on that front, but that still leaves the fact that their are so. fucking. many. issues that this world has to deal with.

This morning, this led me to thinking about the biggest crime that could possibly be happening against the world right now, and I’m pretty sure I have it figured out: the biggest crime is that our resources are focused on the wrong places.

Duh, right? Wait for it: I’m thinking that instead of taking on each of these problems, we should really be getting at the root of everything. There is simply not enough time in a day to deal with these issues. And that’s the answer, right? Scientists should be focusing their energies on adding more time to a day. Or eliminating our need for sleep (forgive me, sleep – I do love you), or something that would make it more possible to get everything done.

I would love to get an internship right now. But the fact is, most are unpaid (especially when it comes to the fine arts) and I’m in school and working average paying part time retail job to make sure I can survive while in school. When I’m in school, my teachers lament – and I rejoice – as they say, “We won’t be getting to that topic, there simply isn’t enough time.” But wait – more hours in a day and suddenly we have time to expand our education, right? There are people out there who are trying to solve world hunger – but this comes without about fifty thousand other problems, and they can only solve one at a time. But if they had more hours to devote to it, maybe more could be tackled and they would be reaching towards the end goal faster.

Okay, okay, this is mostly a joke. I totally know that you could argue it with: “Well, if you didn’t spend so much time on a blog no one reads…” or “Why don’t you stop watching Grey’s Anatomy, then?” or “Stop spending so much time being lazy with your boyfriend and do something!” Yeah, yeah, I guess, but what kind of quality of life would that be? Maybe my lack of sacrifice is my last remanent of teenage angst. I’m sure people out there are sacrificing a lot to actually get things done. But I’m just saying – if you’re in the science field, and want something really important to pursue – I’m sure this would make their lives easier. I know it would help mine.